A SOCIAL worker involved with Liam Fee in the months before he died has been accused of bungling the cases of 16 children.

Lesley Bate was part of the Fife social work team responsible for the little boy's welfare shortly before he was killed by his parents.

Liam, two, was murdered by his mother Rachel and her sadistic civil partner Nyomi.

Bate, 60, faces 13 charges of failing to properly handle the cases of 16 children aged from one to 15.

The charges relate to the period between December 2011 and August 2014, when she was employed by Fife Council in the child protection team in Glenrothes and the children and families team in Dunfermline as a social worker.

One of the charges claims Bate failed to follow up concerns raised by a childminder about a one-year-old boy, labelled FF.

It alleges that despite the carer raising concerns on January 15, 2013, “regarding bruising to the face” of the baby – and the next month that “he had a sore neck” – Bate did not act.

During the Liam murder trial, childminder Heather Farmer told the court she contacted the Scottish Childminding Association in January 2013 after he turned up with scratches and bruises to his face.

Rachel Fee

In a separate incident, she raised concerns about the toddler’s neck after he was dropped off at her home on February 18, 2013.

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The news was revealed by a Fife Council whistleblower, who highlighted details of the authority’s controversial handling of Liam’s care.

Senior social workers claimed at his trial that the tot inexplicably “fell off the radar” but insiders said Liam was still under the care of Fife Council’s Glenrothes social work team.

Bate left the specialist child protection team on long-term sick leave. It is understood she moved from Cupar and resettled in Spain.

The brutality of Liam’s death shocked Scotland.

Nyomi Fee (Image: Police Scotland)

Rachel, 31, and Nyomi, 29, murdered Liam in March 2014 by inflicting blunt force trauma on his abdomen with such force that it burst his heart.

They were also found guilty of horrific neglect and abuse of Liam and two older boys in the house near Glenrothes.

The women were given life sentences.

A Fife Council spokesman said yesterday: “These allegations of misconduct do not reflect the high standard of professionalism which we expect and receive from our social work staff.

“Fife Council’s children’s services were subject to a joint inspection earlier this year by the Care Inspectorate, Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HMI of Constabulary for Scotland, who evaluated services in Fife very positively.”